"In the Dark"
Based on the Angel Episode Written by Douglas Petrie
The following story is copyright © 2023 by Mark Moore.
In Angel's outer office, Cordelia was typing away on the computer and listening to their current client on the phone. Doyle lounged nearby, reading a newspaper.
"Angel was amazing. The way that he came out of nowhere and beat the shit out of Lenny. He saved my life. I...I can't believe he actually showed up."
"Well, that was the deal, right?" Cordelia smiled. "He's a great guy, Rachel. Have some faith."
"I'll try. Thanks for listening."
"No problem."
"Bye."
"Bye." Cordelia hung up the handset.
Cordelia checked a note and then typed in the name of their client, Rachel Mathis. She printed the document.
"This is so awesome. Our first walk-in client. Everything is going according to plan! See girl in distress,...see Angel save girl from druggy/stalker boyfriend,...and see invoice!" Cordelia pulled a paper out of the printer and held it up. "Ta-da!"
She showed the invoice to Doyle, who looked less than impressed.
"What?" Cordelia asked.
"Nothing. You're doing a lovely job there. Looks very official."
"So why are you not rejoicing at our first paying client?"
Doyle got up and walked over to her desk. "Because that's not money you're holding in your hand there, darling; that's mail. There's a big difference between that and actually getting paid."
"But she has to pay! Invoice! That's the rule of our whole, like, society!"
Doyle leaned on the desk. "Defaulting? That's another popular rule in our society...especially with the down-and-outs. Not that I've perpetrated said heinousness myself..."
"So what are you saying? 'Why bother?'" Cordelia asked.
"All I'm saying is that, if we're ever going to take that cruise to the Bahamas together, we're going to need a lot more clients of means."
"And an alternate reality in which you are Matthew McConaughey."
The door opened.
Harmony walked into the office. "Hello, L.A.!"
Cordelia got up in excitement. "Harmony?! Oh, my God!" She walked around the desk. "Harm. It's so good to see you." She hugged Harmony. "You look great!"
Harmony hugged Cordelia. "You, too!"
They released each other. The door opened, and Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Sandy walked into the office.
Buffy grinned. "Hey, girl!"
"Guys!" Cordelia walked over and shared a group hug with them.
"Oh, Tara, happy belated birthday!" Cordelia told her.
Tara smiled. "Thanks."
"How does it feel being nineteen?"
"Really no different than being eighteen."
Cordelia nodded. "Right, right."
They released each other.
Cordelia turned to Doyle and pointed at each of her friends in turn. "Doyle, these are Harmony, Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Sandy." She turned to her friends and pointed at Doyle. "Guys, this is Doyle. He...works here."
Various overlapping greetings were exchanged.
"So...I heard the rumors from Faith, but you guys can fill me in on the real deal here. So you guys are...like detectives?" Buffy guessed.
"No, I'm an actress!" Cordelia insisted.
Doyle looked at her. "And quite a captivating one at that."
"And between my many gigs, I sometimes choose to help Angel."
Doyle nodded. "He's the detective."
Buffy stared at Cordelia, unconvinced. "You were working in a diner just a couple weeks ago."
Cordelia fumed.
Buffy softened and put her hands on Cordelia's shoulders. "Hey, you don't have to pretend around me. You'll make it. I have faith in you."
Cordelia smiled at her.
"Where's Angel?" Buffy asked her.
"In his apartment." Cordelia turned and pointed. "Take the elevator down."
Buffy looked at her bandmates. "I'll just be a minute, guys."
She headed toward the elevator, and Cordelia and Doyle joined her. They got in, Cordelia pulled the metal grating closed and pressed a button, and the elevator went down.
The elevator stopped. Cordelia pulled the metal grating open, and they got out of the elevator. They entered Angel's apartment.
Angel walked through his downstairs apartment, looking through a book. "Hey guys." He looked up. "Buffy."
"Hey."
"Nice surprise."
"Thanks."
"Staying long?"
"Few days."
"Come on in."
They walked further into the apartment.
"So...good to see you."
"I came primarily for a gig - but also to give you this." Buffy held out the ring to him.
Doyle came to take a closer look. "Wait a minute, is that what I think it is?"
Angel made no move to take it. "It's the Gem of Amarra."
"One and the same." Buffy tried to hand it to Angel.
After a moment, Angel accepted it.
"I wanted you to have it."
Angel turned and walked away from them, looking at the ring in his hands. He leaned on the table, turning the ring in his hand and looking at it.
"What are you waiting for, man? Put it on!" Doyle told him.
Cordelia walked over to Angel. "Okay, you're getting weird about this ring. Since when did you go all Versace about accessorizing?"
Doyle looked at her. "Since the accessory is priceless and renders its wearer 100% unkillable if he's a vampire."
Cordelia looked at him. "Unkillable? Whew. You mean not even stakes?"
"Not nothing. Not stakes, not fire, and the best thing is not even sunlight." Doyle looked at Angel. "I mean just think of it, man. Poolside tanning, bargain matinees,...plus I know a couple of strip clubs that have a fabulous luncheon buffet. I mean...it's...I've heard."
Angel looked grave.
Buffy walked over to him. "Your buddy, Spike, dug up Sunnydale, looking for it. I kicked his ass. He left it behind. I wanted to be sure it was in good hands." She shrugged. "And I was heading this way."
Doyle walked over to Angel. "Come on, I have something that will boost your spirits." He picked up a stake. "Why don't you put it on, and I'll stake you? It'll be fun!"
Angel was still playing with the ring in his hand and looking off to the side. "Maybe later."
"What, are you out of your mind?" Doyle asked.
"I said maybe later."
"Yeah..."
"Doyle..."
Doyle walked towards the elevator. "Okay, you have it your way, man. But I'm still going to celebrate with a drink down at the pub."
Cordelia looked at Buffy. "He'd celebrate the opening of a mailbox with a drink at the pub."
Buffy chuckled.
Dawn was sitting in her bedroom, listening to "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera. The doorbell rang. Dawn ignored it. It rang a second time.
"Dad!" Dawn called. "Door!"
The doorbell rang a third time. Dawn sighed, stopped the CD, stood up, and walked out of her room.
She walked over to the front door, looked through the peephole, and unlocked and opened the door.
Buffy grinned. "Hey!"
Dawn grinned. "Hey!" She stepped aside.
Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Harmony walked into the house. They set their suitcases on the floor. Buffy and Dawn hugged each other.
"Buffy?" Sandy asked.
Everyone looked. Sandy was standing outside, waiting.
Buffy stared at her in confusion for a moment, then she realized the problem. "Oh!" She looked at Dawn. "Dawn, invite Sandy in."
Dawn hesitated.
Buffy stared at her. "Dawn. It's okay."
Just then, Hank walked into the room. "Buffy! Hey! Did you girls have a nice trip?"
"Yeah, Dad, but Sandy needs to be invited into the house."
Hank looked at her and then at Buffy. "Why?"
"Because she's a vampire."
"You brought a vampire here?" Hank asked in shock.
"Well, yeah. I mean...she is in the band."
"She is?" Dawn asked.
Buffy looked at her. "Yeah."
Tara looked at Hank. "She's a good person, Mr. Summers."
"How do you know?" Hank asked her.
"I sense no negative energy from her."
Hank rolled his eyes.
Amy nodded. "It's true. She's clean. Well, except for the demon occupying her body."
Tara shot Amy a look.
Amy shrugged. "They deserve to know everything."
Buffy looked at her father. "Dad, you can trust her. Just think of her as your friendly neighborhood vampire."
"So she's like Angel?" Hank asked her.
Buffy made a face. "Well, not exactly."
Hank looked to Harmony for her opinion.
Harmony wasn't expecting that. She made a goofy face. "Um, I don't know what it's like to be a vampire, but I've never seen Sandy kill anyone. Well, except for other vampires."
Hank looked at Sandy, then at Buffy, hesitating.
Buffy stared at him. "If it's going to be that big of a problem for you, we can always stay in a hotel."
"That...won't be necessary." Hank looked at Sandy. "Come in, Sandy."
Sandy walked into the house and set down her suitcase.
Hank closed and locked the door. He looked at Buffy. "I prepared your room."
"Okay, we're gonna have to sleep three to a room." Buffy looked at Tara.
Tara nodded.
Amy nodded. "I'll sleep with you guys."
Harmony looked at Dawn. "Hey, Dawn, sounds like we'll be roomies."
Dawn looked from Harmony to Sandy and then back at Harmony, wary. Sandy looked away and folded her arms, upset.
Buffy looked at Dawn. "Dawnie, why don't you sleep with me and Tara?"
Dawn folded her arms and shrugged. "Whatever." She walked back toward her bedroom.
Buffy walked over to Sandy and put a hand on her shoulder in support.
The next day, at the office, Cordelia was getting a cup of water for Doyle from the water cooler and sat down at the desk across from him.
Doyle moaned. "Oh, God. You know what would feel really good right now? One of those mind-numbing, head-cracking visions that I get from time to time, because that would really kill me now." He struggled to get some pills out of a bottle. "Is there some kind of trick to this?"
Cordelia took the bottle from him. "I think the trick is laying off the ale before you start quoting Angela's Ashes and weeping like a baby-man." She pulled the cotton wad out of the bottle and shook some pills into her hand. She offered them to Doyle.
Doyle accepted the pills and washed them down. "Hey, that's a good book."
"So I've heard."
They suddenly heard noise coming from downstairs. They stood up and rushed to the elevator.
Cordelia and Doyle ran into the underground parking garage just as Angel threw Spike against the wall.
Spike slowly got back to his feet. "Cordelia. You look smashing. Did you lose weight?"
"Yes, there is this great gym at..." Cordelia stopped and frowned. "Hey!"
Spike looked at Angel. "I'll get that ring. This isn't over until one of us is dead, mate." He ran off.
Cordelia rushed over to Angel. "Are you okay?"
Angel walked off a ways from her, then turned around.
"More importantly, how's the ring?" Doyle asked him.
"It's fine. I can't say the same for you two, though. You better get out of sight until this thing is over. Spike is out for blood." Angel looked at Doyle. "Take her to your place."
"His place? Why can't I just go home?" Cordelia asked. "Or stay with Buffy or Faith?"
"Because he knows you, Cordelia. If he wants to, he'll track you down."
"Yeah, but he's not invited, right?" Cordelia asked. "He can't come in."
Doyle looked at her. "No, but he can burn the place to the ground."
"Okay, then. Doyle's place it is."
Doyle looked at Angel. "What about you, man? You know he'll be coming back for you before long."
"I know."
"So what are you going to do?" Cordelia asked him.
"Find him first."
In Doyle's apartment, he was talking on the phone while Cordelia was pacing the floor.
"Not Spice, that's the bird down on Broadway. Spike, like in railroads..." Doyle paused. "Uh-huh,...yeah, vampire, right..." He paused again. "No? Okay, then. Thanks." He hung up the handset and marked his open address book. "Frankie Tripod? A big no."
"Frankie Tripod? Oh, I get it. Some kind of three-legged monster, right?" Cordelia guessed.
"No, he's human."
"Then why is his name..." Cordelia paused as she got it. "Oh..."
Doyle got up. "Hey, listen, why don't you sit down? Get comfortable. Angel said I should go through every name in my book until I get a bead on where Spike is hiding out. Could be a while."
"Please. I couldn't get comfortable in here, if the floor was lined with mink. I mean...how can you live like this?"
"Well, I didn't until last week. Then I saw what you did with your place, and I just had to call my decorator."
"No way. My apartment is nowhere near this yucky." Cordelia sat down on a chair.
Paper rustled. She got up, brushed it off the chair, and sat back down while Doyle picked some laundry off another chair.
"It smells like bong water in here."
"Okay, a couple of laundry might be a couple of days overdue, but-"
The telephone rang.
Doyle went and picked up the handset. "Yeah?" He paused. "Hey, Kizzy. Yeah, vamp named Spike." He paused again. "No? Okay." He paused again. "What, a C note? I absolutely paid that back, man!" He paused again. "Hey, no, sorry, there goes my other line." He slammed the phone down. "He was mistaken, but I didn't have time to get into it, right? I'm on a mission here!" He collected himself. "So what about this Spike? Is he as bad as all that? I mean should I be sweating?"
"He's really not..." Cordelia paused and sighed. "Sweat."
"That's what I figured."
Later, Cordelia was eating popcorn. "Oh, yeah, Spike's nearly done Buffy in a few times. I mentioned that he's killed two Slayers already?"
"You did."
"Oh, and, this one time, he and Dru raised this demon that burned people from the inside. It was this whole weird thing with an arm in a box."
"An arm in a box?"
Cordelia nodded. The phone rang.
Doyle picked it up. "House of Pies." He paused. "Oh, sorry, man. Just laying low. All those calls to past acquaintances stirred up a few, uh, old resentments." He paused again. "Yeah, well, listen, Manny the Pig said he didn't know anything about a vampire called Spike." He paused again. "So he said that before I mentioned anything about Spike. You'll find him at a joint down on Third called the Orbit Room." He paused again. "Work your way down."
Later, Cordelia was sitting by the phone, and Doyle was pacing.
"Angel should have called by now." Cordelia sighed. "This is bad!"
"Maybe not. Maybe he did away with Spike in short order and decided to give a go at surfing?"
Cordelia brightened a bit. "Right! What am I worried about? Angel has the ring, right?"
"Right! I bet he is out hanging ten right about now, out on the sandy shore. Wind in his hair. Bikini babes a-whistlin'."
Cordelia shot him a look, having not considered that last part.
They went back to Angel's office. The place was trashed. Wary, Cordelia readied a crossbow. Spike came up into the office.
Cordelia was waiting with the crossbow ready in her hands. "When you are done giving the place a once-over...I hope you have the cash to pay for all of this."
Spike slowly stepped closer. "Cordelia. Love the hair."
"Wish I could say the same."
Doyle aimed a gun at Spike. "That's close enough."
"What is it with you good guys running in packs? Who is this one, then?"
"More than meets the eye."
"Ooh, the Mick's got spine! Maybe I'll snap it in two."
"Do you want me to use this?" Cordelia threatened.
"You'll be dead before that bolt leaves the bow."
Cordelia lowered the bow slightly.
"Now, where was I? Bloody tired of looking for that ring. I think you two should take over now."
"Where is Angel?" Doyle asked him.
"Angel, um...tall brooding guy, caveman brow? He's having the living hell tortured out of him. And you know how stubborn he can be; he might die before he gives up the ring. Why don't you two find it real fast and give it to me? I'll let Angel go."
Cordelia raised the crossbow. "I don't trust you."
"To coin a popular Sunnydale phrase, 'Duh!' But you have until sundown to save him. You'll find me behind Peterson's Fishery, between Seward and Westminster." Spike walked off. "Don't be late."
Cordelia and Doyle went downstairs and rifled through Angel's apartment.
"Shit!" Cordelia exclaimed.
"What?"
"It's not in the freezer, and it's not in the toilet tank. In the movies, it's always in one of those places."
"It's not here."
"We've looked everywhere!"
"Except..."
Cordelia looked at him. "The rat-infested sewer tunnels he uses to get around in the daytime."
In the sewers, Cordelia and Doyle were searching, each holding a flashlight.
Cordelia sighed. "This is not a needle in a haystack; this is a needle in Kansas."
"Yeah, I know, you're right. We just got to keep looking."
Cordelia walked ahead of Doyle.
"Here!" Doyle exclaimed.
Cordelia turned around and ran back. "How did you do that?"
"You got to get lucky sometimes."
"I could hug you!"
Doyle spread out his arms.
"You're not that lucky. Now, come on, we've gotta save Angel!"
"Right, by giving Spike exactly what he wants, so he can kill us."
"Right!" Cordelia paused in thought. "No, we need a plan."
Buffy, Tara, Amy, Harmony, and Sandy scooped some of the substance out of their respective bowls with their spoons and studied it closely.
Dawn stood by, excited but slightly impatient. "Well? Go on! Try it!"
"What is it?" Harmony asked, wary.
Dawn grinned. "Taco in a tub! I mixed ground beef, ground pork, chopped onions, grated cheese, salsa, spices, and taco sauce together and cooked it."
Amy stared at the substance. "You didn't mix it in the bathtub, did you?"
"Nah, I'm just keeping the alliteration going."
Tara hesitated, then ate a spoonful of the substance. "It's good."
Sandy ate a spoonful and smiled. "Nice job, Dawn."
Dawn stared at Sandy, hesitant. "Thanks."
The phone rang.
Dawn walked over, picked up the handset, and answered. "Thanks for calling the Titty Twister. How may I direct your call?"
Buffy shot her a look. "Dawn!"
"Hey, Dawn, it's Cordelia. Is Buffy there?"
Dawn walked over to Buffy. "Yeah, she's just getting off the stage. Just give her a moment to get dressed."
Buffy snatched the handset out of Dawn's hand. "Hello?"
"Hey, Buffy. Listen, we've got a little situation with Spike. He followed you to L.A. and is after the ring. We've got it, and he's expecting us to turn it over to him in exchange for Angel. We could really use your help."
Buffy smiled. "Wow, I'm flattered that you'd think of me."
"Faith's stuck at work."
Buffy frowned. "Of course. Okay, uh, where are you?"
"We're about to head to Peterson's Fishery, between Seward and Westminster, to meet up with Spike. It would help if you tail us and jump in when it's time to rescue Angel."
"Okay, we're on our way."
"Thanks, Buffy."
Buffy ended the call and set the handset on the charger. "Okay, Cordy needs our help with Spike."
Dawn grinned. "Woo-hoo! Let's hit it!"
"No. We do all of the hitting." Buffy poked Dawn repeatedly with her index finger. "You stay put and take full advantage of this teacher workday. Sandy, you can stay behind. Everyone else, c'mon."
Tara, Amy, and Harmony stood up and headed for the kitchen door.
Dawn cleared her throat.
Buffy looked at her in frustration. "What?"
Dawn nodded at Sandy.
Buffy ran her hand over her face in frustration. "Fucking Christ. Dawn-"
"I'll stay behind." Harmony walked back over to the table and sat down. She looked at Dawn. "Okay?"
Dawn nodded and sat down next to Harmony at the table.
Buffy opened the kitchen door, and she, Tara, and Amy walked outside. Amy closed the door behind her.
There was an awkward silence for a while. Harmony smiled, scooped up a spoonful of substance, and ate it. Dawn started eating as well. Sandy took a vial of blood out of her jeans pocket, opened it, and drank the blood. Dawn made a face, grossed out.
Cordelia and Doyle walked up to Peterson's Fishery.
Spike was waiting in the shadows behind the building. "So...where is my ring?"
Doyle shook his head. "Not on us."
Cordelia nodded. "But we know where it is."
"And suddenly I'm so painfully bored. Time runs short, children. Give me that ring as if Angel's life depended on it."
Cordelia frowned. "Listen, you little Cockney, take us to Angel now."
Doyle nodded. "So if he's still in one piece, we tell you where you can find the ring."
"He is still alive, I think. In one piece was never part of the deal."
Spike, Cordelia, and Doyle walked into a warehouse. Angel was slumped in chains.
Spike smiled. "Lucy, I'm home."
Cordelia ran towards Angel. "Angel!"
Spike held her and Doyle back. "Hey, hey! A deal's a deal."
Angel looked up. "Cordelia."
"And our deal was for the ring. You've wasted quite enough of my time, so I'd really like it...now!"
"You want the ring, you dog?" Doyle pulled it out of his pocket and threw it past Angel. "Go fetch!"
Spike went after it.
Cordelia looked at Spike. "Okay. You've got the ring; we've got Angel. And now you're going to leave us alone, and we're going to leave."
"Come on. You don't really think that we're going to do that, do you?" Spike reached for the ring.
Cordelia heard tires squealing. "Not really."
Buffy's van burst through the side of the warehouse, rammed through some barrels, and came to a screeching halt behind Angel as Spike rolled out of its way. Buffy pulled out a crossbow and aimed it out of the driver-side window while Cordelia and Doyle freed Angel. Amy opened the back doors. Cordelia and Doyle helped him into the back of the van. Buffy backed the van out of the warehouse.
"How is he doing?" Buffy asked.
Doyle checked. "He'll live."
Cordelia shook her head. "Not without help. We need to get him to a hospital."
"Which one?" Amy asked. "They all tend to specialize in humans."
Doyle nodded. "She's right, too risky. Can either of you witches do a healing spell?"
Amy shook her head. Not with so many distractions."
"Do you know any first aid?" Doyle asked.
Tara looked at him. "I do, but there isn't a kit in here-"
"Turn around!" Angel suddenly yelled.
Tara looked at him. "Angel."
Cordelia looked at her. "He's delirious. Ignore him."
"Marcus! The torture demon! He has the ring! Turn around!" Angel yelled again.
"So you can do what?" Cordelia asked him. "It's daylight, and you're ringless. Unless you're changing the act to human torch, I don't think so."
Doyle looked at Angel. "She's right. You're death on toast, man. You're in no shape to be fighting a torture demon."
Angel pulled out the last poker still stuck in his side. "God! Okay, he's got a thing for children. Buffy...turn around. He couldn't have gone far."
Buffy spun the van around.
Buffy drove onto the pier at a nearby beach and rammed into Marcus, sending him flying.
Cordelia went up front, opened the passenger-side door, got out of the van, and ran over to a group of Cub Scouts. "Run, now. Move your little Scout legs. Now! Go! Come on! On the lay! On the lay! Arrivederci! Or whatever the fucking mouse says!"
Amy shot Marcus in the chest with a crossbow bolt. Marcus just pulled it back out and threw it away.
"Damn it. I'll get him." Doyle got out of the van.
He and Marcus started to fight. Marcus knocked Doyle down.
"Doyle!" Cordelia cried.
"You're sure about this?" Tara asked Angel.
"Yeah."
Tara opened the sliding door, and Angel launched himself out with a scream. He caught fire as he ran to tackle Marcus. They crashed through the railing and into the water below.
Cordelia looked over the railing, worried. "Where is he?"
Soon, Angel slowly and hesitantly stepped out from under the pier, blinking at the sun. The ring was on his left ring finger. He looked around in wonder. He walked up to Cordelia.
"Are you all right?" Cordelia asked him.
"Fine..." Angel looked at the others. "Thanks for the help."
Buffy, Tara, and Amy nodded.
Cordelia gently took hold of Angel's arm. "Look, you should lie down. We should take you home."
Doyle looked at her. "Just give him a minute."
Angel wandered out on the beach, looking amazed.
Later, back at the office, Cordelia was sitting at her desk. The door opened, and Rachel Mathis, a young blonde woman, walked in.
Cordelia looked. "Rachel. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Uh, I came to drop off this." Rachel walked over to the desk and offered Cordelia a check.
Cordelia took the check, looked at it, and grinned. "So everything worked out?"
"Yeah. Angel kept showing up whenever I needed him. He's a man of his word." Rachel rolled her eyes. "Unlike Lenny. At least, I'm finally done with him."
"For real?" Cordelia asked. "How is it?"
Rachel nodded. "It hurts. But eventually I'll be stronger for it."
Cordelia smiled. "And maybe you'll find your way to the kind of love you deserve."
"Maybe. Tell Angel thanks. And tell him...that I found a little faith."
Cordelia nodded. Rachel walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped outside. Cordelia looked at the check for a moment and then set it on her desk.
Cordelia walked onto the roof of their building. Angel was watching the sun set.
"So how long has it been between sunsets?" Cordelia asked him.
"Two-hundred years, give or take."
"Well, you got to be feeling pretty damn good then, huh?" Cordelia asked. "I mean this ring...changes everything, doesn't it?"
Angel just kept staring at the sun.
"Yeah, it's spectacular, I know. But I do promise that there will be another one exactly like it tomorrow."
"Not for me."
"Say what?"
"I'm not going to wear the ring."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You've got a real addiction to the brooding part of life. Anyone ever tell you that?"
"Once or twice."
"Care to explain?" Cordelia asked. "I mean this ring is your redemption. It's what you've been waiting for."
"Nah, it just looks like it."
Cordelia gently put her hand on Angel's shoulder. "Angel, think about what you're saying."
"I have. I've thought of it from every angle, and what I figure is I did a lot of damage in my day, more than you can imagine."
"Oh, I can imagine. So fucking what? You don't get the ring, because your period of self-flagellation isn't over yet?" Cordelia asked him. "I mean think of all the daytime people you could help between nine and five."
"They have help. The whole world is designed for them, so much that they have no idea what goes on around them after dark. They don't see the weak ones lost in the night...or the things that prey on them. And if I join them, maybe I'd stop seeing, too."
"And who'd look out for all the insomniacs?" Cordelia asked.
"I was brought back for a reason, Cordy, and, as much as I would like to kid myself, I don't think it was for eighteen holes at Rancho."
The sun sank below the horizon. Angel took off the ring and picked up a brick. Cordelia slapped Angel on the back of the head.
"Ow!" Angel exclaimed, looking at Cordelia in shock.
Cordelia snatched the ring out of his hand. "Just because you don't wanna wear it doesn't mean it should be destroyed. I'm sure Sandy will be glad to have it."
"She doesn't have a soul."
"And she handles it a lot better than you did."
"And if she someday doesn't?" Angel asked her. "We'll have an indestructible daywalker on our hands."
Cordelia shook her head. "No, we won't. Buffy will."
Angel sighed. "Cordy, if you accept Sandy as the same girl that she was before she was turned-"
"She is. I can tell."
"-then you have to accept Angelus as me."
Cordelia paused for a moment and then nodded. "Oh, and that Rachel girl with the crazy boyfriend stopped by. She said to say thanks - and that she found a little faith."
Angel nodded. "I don't know about you, but I had a nice day. You know, except for the bulk of it, where I was nearly tortured to death."
Cordelia laughed. "Yeah, well, you survived. Now, c'mon, Buffy and her band are performing soon."
"I don't feel like going."
"You have to. You're driving."